Classical India Vs Classical China

Emperor K’ang-hsi was one of the greatest Chinese emperors of all time. Ruling from 1662 to 1722 he was also one of the longest ruling emperors in Chinese history and for that matter the world. K’ang-hsi brought China to long-term stability and relative wealth after years of war and chaos. Jonathan Spence writes from the eyes of K’ang-hsi getting his information from K’ang-hsi’s own writings. Though a little biased towards himself this book still provides important insight into his mind. Emperor of China is divided into six parts; In Motion, Ruling, Thinking, Growing Old, Sons, and Valedictory.

Ancient South Asian and Chinese societies have many things in common, but they also have many differences in their ways of living. From social aspects to religious aspects, Ancient South Asian and Chinese societies have developed over time to become their own unique societies.

In the Roman empire, many different people seized the throne in a short period of time, they were known as barracks emperors. In the Han Empire,after the death of a well respected Han, Wang Mang took control of the throne. Wang Mang is often times known as the socialist emperor. He attempted to fix a land distribution issue by breaking of large estates, redistribute them, and provide landless individuals with property to cultivate. He had good intentions but, it resulted in confusion. Landlords resisted a policy that threatened their holding and even peasants did not approve. In the end, it left chaos. Wang Mang was revolted against. The poor leadership from both Empires left the empires unstable, and unable to mend itself of any issues collectively. It was a catalyst in the fall of

A former scholar redid the confucian ideology and helped Tang maintain its unity. Aristocracy’s power was reduced and power was now shared by imperial families and scholars. Bureaucracy was under strict control and reached from imperial court to district levels of administration.

As the full moon shone brightly overhead, beneath its calm light were two anxious figures. The handsome man, Grand Duke Wén Dingxiang, stood near the pillars outside on the right as he paced distractedly with sweat profusely dripping along his face. He wore a white hanfu robe stitched with a golden dragon on the back with his hands clenched onto a folded dark-indigo fan. He was eight hundred and thirty years old although he still looked like he was in his late twenties. Next to him was a worried young male servant, Zhu Peng, with his head bowed. This servant has been a close aid of the man since childhood.

In the mid-seventeenth century, the Ming Dynasty had a slow and painful decline. There were some eunuchs who were hated and corrupt, and some of the emperors who were not effective, allowed the government power to slip into the eunuch’s hands. Decisions were being made from bribes and there was no concern for the consequences. There were peasanty who were already hard-pressed, and taxes were being squeezed from them to pay for a multitude of imperial court official and hangers-on. Peasant rebellions began to multiplying as the government's ability to restrain rapacious landlords declined (Adler and Phillips, pg. 375).

A. Taika Reforms: Reforms instituted in 646 that aimed to completely change the imperial administration to resemble the Chinese absolutist style emperor

Throughout the Ming Dynasty there have been some emperors who didn’t care what was going on in the government. These emperors were either incompetent or disinterested, so to kept things in order the government establish the office prime minister to make the important decision. Of course one of the emperors weren’t ok with this so he disbanded the prime minister office, but they brought it back and made the Grand Secretary the minister. The Grand Secretary corrupted and abused his power in the government and many people believed that his son would do the same. To make sure this doesn’t keep happening a group of scholar’s band together to fight corrupt officials and to gain control of the government. As the years go by people in the government

The era 600 BCE to 600 CE was an era of empire building. Specifically, the Han, Mauryan, Gupta, and Qin were all empires in India or China during this era. The empires would function by following a belief system or religion: Hinduism, Daoism, Buddhism, Legalism, and/or Confucianism. Some laws were made based on one or more of the religions or belief system. Also, the idea how people should act was based on them. While both India and China use Buddhism as a unifying factor during 600 BCE and 600 CE, India uses Hinduism to organize social systems, while China uses confucianism to strengthen their government.

Major changes in political structure, social and economic life define the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties. Each period laid the foundation for the next, with changes and improvements to create a new order. China is one of the world’s richest historical countries boasting of ancient civilization. China has a mysterious and long history, about 5,000 years. China traces her culture to a blend of small tribes like any other great civilizations of the world. These small original tribes expanded to what is China today. The history of China records that Xia Dynasty is the oldest dynasty with Yuanmou man being the oldest hominoid in China. The country also documents a number of eminent people who contributed to the nation’s enrichment and development experienced today. However, this essay seeks to discuss the major changes in political structures, social and economic life that occurred during the Sui dynasty, the Tang dynasty and the Song dynasty in China.

Review of The Last Emperors: A Social History of Qing Imperial Institutions, Written by Evelyn S. Rawski

The Emperor of China: Self-Portrait of Kanghsi is a collection of the personal memoirs and writings of the Qing Emperor Kangxi who ruled and expanded China during the late 17th century. Translated into English by Jonathan D. Spence, Emperor of China provides a glimpse into the life of China’s longest reigning emperor during the beginning China’s last ruling dynasty. Kangxi records his thoughts to provide guidance to future generations of Qing emperors. The Emperor’s writings served as evidence of his life acting in accordance with both Chinese principles and Manchu principles. Emperor of China displays Emperor Kangxi’s philosophies on ruling through humility and the struggles of duality he faced in maintaining the military tradition of his Manchu ancestors while at the same time conforming to the Confucian principles of his Chinese court.

This week’s reading about India and China was very informative about their ancient forms of governments and how it differs from our original beliefs. In the reading section “Republics and Quasi-Democratic Institutions in Ancient India”, I was exposed to various concepts that I had not been taught in the past. As stated in the reading, “ …Brahmanical treaties found it very easy to visualize Indian society as a politically static one in which, ever since antiquity, monarchy was the normal form of state’(pg. 50). “ I as well assumed India’s government was only consisted of a Monarchial government system. I learned that Buddhist scriptures suggested that there was evidence that India practiced republicanism (pg. 50) It is stated by Muhlberger”the

China’s great ancient empire has been the source of stories, fables, and fascination throughout the world for generations. The Asian culture has a long history of powerful leaders and ruthless battles making it one of the longest standing powers that the world has ever known. Yet, what took centuries to create was destroyed during the reign of a single ruler, plunging the country into chaos and confusion. The one who often is believed to have generated this collapse is the Empress Dowager Tzu His, the last Empress of China.

Within this time of victory much celebration was at hand also planning of the next move. Within the next few weeks murmurs from officials talk of a strange man named Mencius, and are very skeptical of his appearance in this palace. “ there is more to ruling than just war, after we conquer all of the states we must rule a certain way to ensure we are forever rulers of China” the official said. “ In the morning we will gather the nobles and hear what he had to say” The official said.